Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Taylor Emery Eck. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Taylor , thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I was raised with amazing examples of work ethic and the benefits of working hard from my Father and my Grandpa. I was fortunate to grow up with my grandparents being our neighbors and while I was the only grandchild to be born after my Grandpa retired, I grew up listening to stories of how he established relationships with people, traveled the world with the earnings from his work and so many life lessons he shared thru his business practice. Similarly, my Father has always been the hardest working person I know. He does everything he can to provide for our family and create an amazing life for him and my mom. It really resonated early on that if you work hard enough, are sincere in your business practices and establish good relationships with people your work will (hopefully) be fulfilling. So far my creative practice has been fulfilling and able to support my family so I really couldn’t ask for anything more and that keeps me motivated to keep trying to grow it and succeed.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I create functional dinnerware designed for everyday use that features bright colors, bold floral patterns and your favorite pop culture imagery. My work is specifically designed to be used daily and add brightness to your home or office. I am fortunate to share that my pottery is sold in 14 locations across 5 different states and I seem to be adding more locations every few months. I am also moving this fall to be more central and am very excited to be able to offer Local Pickup soon to all my St. Louis customers. I am always adapting and adjusting my business to remain accessible to as many people as possible and I am excited to be offering special pricing for my in person events I am doing this fall. Be sure to check the Events tab on my website to find all the fun places I will be popping up at this fall season!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Reflecting on my time as an artist and business person, 3 qualities come to mind that are essential to my practice: craftsmanship, business acumen, and establishing relationships. I really appreciate the time and effort that was required from my instructors to develop a high level of craftsmanship in my technique before exploring all the fun ways to decorate pottery was introduced. I was very fortunate to be taught early in my ceramics journey that you can put decals and fun glazes on pots but if the pottery is not technically sound or crafted well, it still isn’t a great mug. I take craftsmanship and functionality in my work very seriously and am always striving to produce a well crafted product. Business acumen or general business knowledge is also essential to being a successful (profitable) maker. I was guided by my father while in college to pursue business classes alongside my studio art classes and having a general understanding of entrepreneurship, accounting and marketing have been so helpful as my business has grown. Lastly I am a people person but I really think the relationships you establish not only with customers but also with retailers, other makers, and event organizers can really make or break your success as a small business. I feel very lucky to be surrounded by other makers that I trust that I can bounce ideas off of, store owners who champion for me, event organizers who continue to invite me back and of course my dedicated customers who keep this dream alive.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
Believe in me. If you know me, you know I could spend days talking about how appreciative and thankful I am for both my parents. My parents never questioned my journey to become a self employed artist at 19 and have always shown up for me – literally, at craft shows to help run my booth. They encouraged me to move to a small town in Indiana to be a potter’s apprentice for 2 years, they helped move me back to St. Louis to begin my independent studio practice journey, and my mom usually comes over at least once a week to help with studio work by making trays, earrings and ornaments. They have spent days at art shows with me, driven across the country to craft schools and been my plus one to national ceramics conventions. I am extremely blessed to be able to say that I truly couldn’t ask for more supportive parents.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.claybytay.com
- Instagram: ClayByTay
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClayByTay/
Image Credits
Life Behind The Lense
